Trouble in Hollywood ...

I don’t know the particulars of Charlie Sheen’s arrest Christmas morning on charges of domestic violence.

To be honest, I didn’t even know he had remarried. I’ve never heard of his current wife, Brooke Mueller, nor was I aware they were renting a home in Aspen, Colo. I’m only vaguely aware of the details of the charges against Sheen, I haven’t read statements by his lawyer or his wife or the Pitkin County, Colo., Police Department ...

The litany of arrests, charges, and mischief Sheen has amassed. Surely you remember his patronage in the sordid business of Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss in 1995? But do you remember his alleged shooting of then-fiance Kelly Preston in the arm in 1990? His acrimonious, accusation-riddled divorce from Denise Richards in 2005 is still top-of-mind, but who among us could recall his alleged out-of-court settlement with a college student who claimed he assaulted her after she refused him sex 10 years earlier?

Domestic violence crosses all walks of life, even the rich and famous. I mention all this because Sheen is the starring face of the No. 1 sitcom in America, and it’s the calling card of the highest paid actor on television today.

Hearing about Sheen having to eat his Christmas ham in the hoosegow makes me curious about how CBS will handle this latest letdown from one of its biggest stars. If Sheen is forced into rehab, it will certainly put a crimp in the shooting schedule of one of the Tiffany Network’s signature series. But more to the point, how will audiences handle it?

Lasting TV shows become such because TV is an intimate medium — we literally invite characters into our homes and make time for them on a regular basis, the way we would for family and friends. Sitcoms or drama, scripted television shows attain longevity when audiences care about characters on a personal level — and the actors who portray them.

Sheen’s been given a pass so far by CBS, the industry and viewers. Maybe because the Charlie Harper he plays on TV is just a made-for-TV refraction of his real life character, it’s not so stunning to find out that Sheen sobered up on Christmas morning on a jail cell floor, rather than on a living room couch like the rest of us. And maybe folks will just absorb the news and move on.